<- they, they're friendly, they're not bringing people here on purpose ->

<What makes you think that?>

<I've... been here a while? We've mostly been talking about how to translate for the short ones who can't hear thoughtspeak and how everybody's magic works because they all have different magic and about how they might want to buy lightbulbs. ...I work for Filament. The lightbulb company.>

<Many humans are Controllers.>

<Oh. I guess it doesn't really help if I tell you that they haven't tried to put a Yeerk in me. Or that I didn't see them put one in her either.>

Miranda has a wand aimed at the newcomer by now. "Hey, Eskillimi, does his chip need to learn separately from yours?"

"I don't know! I've never used this thing before today!"

<I can understand you. Drop the weapon.>

Miranda drops her wand.

"Nipsy," she says, "this person's threatening our guest."

With a CRACK, the new Andalite is well across the yard with a house-elf looking very sternly at him, arms folded.

Miranda picks up her wand.

- the new Andalite takes a few unhappy steps back from the house-elf. 

He takes a step closer to his wife.

"Augh!" says Ismat, sagging back onto her husband. "What was that for?"

<If you are not a Controller and not involved in abducting me I apologize for the inconvenience and you can demonstrate it by getting me a phone.>

"A phone?" says Ana. "We might have a spare pocket everything around from when Minor was experimenting on them to get the wards fixed but how is that going to help you?"

<I guess you'll find out once you get me the phone.>

"Who do you think you're going to call? Nobody you know is on this planet if you don't know Eskillimi."

"I've never seen him in my life."

<That's a woman. She wouldn't have been here.>

"...so, nobody you know is going to be on the planet, it's all humans and Amentans and magical creatures? Unless you people have been buddies with centaurs for ages and they never told us which I guess would be fair but I'm pretty sure centaurs don't have phones."

"I would be happy to resolve this by giving you a pocket everything if I were confident you weren't going to call a wrong number and leave some very puzzling message in some random person's inbox. This isn't the planet anyone else was expecting to be on apart from those of us who were here this morning, so I don't think it's the one you were expecting either."

His eyeball stalks twitch. "Earth? Somewhere in the northern hemisphere, you have funny accents but you're speaking English, maybe Britain?"

"This is Britain but we haven't invented phones. The Amentans have but they call them pocket everythings."

<I've travelled in time?>

"Oh, excellent, you can settle whether humans develop good governance on their own once they're richer."

"Do you know what an Amentan is," says Ana.